The train carrying the delegation of the Central Rada arrived in Kyiv early in the morning.
The city was already awakening after the short summer night. Trams, workers, soldiers, and newspaper sellers carrying fresh editions with news from Petrograd gradually appeared in the streets.
But near the buildings of the Central Rada, far more people than usual had gathered even before dawn.
Rumors about the negotiations had spread through Kyiv almost without interruption during the previous several days. Everyone understood: after the First Universal and the delegation's trip to Petrograd, relations between the Central Rada and the Provisional Government were entering a new stage.
And now too much depended on the results of the negotiations.
When the members of the delegation entered the Rada building, tense anticipation already filled the corridors.
Journalists, representatives of Ukrainian organizations, officers, and delegates almost immediately surrounded those who had returned from Petrograd.
—"Did you manage to secure recognition of autonomy?"
—"How did the Provisional Government react?"
—"What will happen with the Ukrainization of the army?"
Questions came from every direction almost at once.
Hrushevsky looked visibly exhausted after the journey and the long hours of negotiations, but he remained calm.
—"The final decisions will be presented today during the session of the Rada," he answered, trying not to reveal details directly in the corridor.
But even that was enough to make the atmosphere inside the building even more tense.
During the following hours, rumors spread through Kyiv more and more rapidly about compromise, agreements with Petrograd, new concessions, and possible recognition of the Central Rada.
And the more rumors appeared, the more contradictory the discussions became.
Inside one room, several Ukrainian officers quietly discussed the results of the negotiations.
—"If the government truly recognizes the Rada, that alone is already a serious step."
Another officer frowned noticeably.
—"The question is at what price."
Nearby, a group of students argued much more emotionally.
—"Compromise is still better than open conflict."
—"And what if Petrograd begins delaying everything again?"
Conversations like these could now be heard across nearly all of Kyiv.
After months of revolution, rallies, and endless political crises, people increasingly began viewing the Ukrainian question not as a theoretical debate among intellectuals, but as a question of power, the army, and the future of the country itself.
Closer to noon, a large session of the Central Rada finally began inside the building.
The atmosphere in the hall immediately felt much heavier than during the proclamation of the First Universal.
At that time, many had still believed that the revolution was opening new possibilities.
Now, however, more and more people felt that the country was gradually entering an even more dangerous crisis.
When Hrushevsky rose to speak, silence quickly spread through the hall.
For several seconds, he silently looked at those gathered before him, as if trying to anticipate their reaction to the words he was about to say.
Because even inside the Central Rada itself, opinions after the negotiations in Petrograd were already beginning to divide more and more sharply.
Hrushevsky began speaking calmly, trying to prevent the hall from slipping into unnecessary emotion.
He spoke in detail about the negotiations in Petrograd, the position of the Provisional Government, and how difficult the discussions surrounding the Ukrainian question had become.
Many in the hall listened very carefully.
Especially once he began speaking about the compromise that had been reached.
—"The Provisional Government recognizes the Central Rada as the representative body of Ukraine," Hrushevsky declared.
Conversations and movement immediately spread through the hall.
For part of those present, even this already appeared to be a major success.
After decades of restrictions and prohibitions, the Ukrainian movement was for the first time receiving at least some official recognition from the central government.
But Hrushevsky almost immediately continued:
—"At the same time, the Rada agrees to coordinate its further actions with the Provisional Government until the final resolution of the question of autonomy."
After those words, the reaction became far more divided.
Several delegates immediately began quietly speaking among themselves.
Some frowned.
Part of the officers seated in the back rows visibly tensed.
Perfectly understanding the mood inside the hall, Hrushevsky continued choosing his words as carefully as possible.
—"Our most important task now is preserving the possibility for the further development of the Ukrainian movement without an open conflict that could drive the country into even greater chaos."
Vynnychenko sat nearby with a noticeably darker expression on his face.
During the negotiations in Petrograd, he had come to understand far more clearly how limited the government's real willingness remained when it came to making serious concessions to Ukraine.
Almost immediately after Hrushevsky finished speaking, arguments erupted throughout the hall.
—"This is recognition of Ukraine!"
—"No, this is another attempt to tie us to Petrograd's decisions!"
—"Without compromise, open conflict will begin immediately!"
—"It has already begun!"
The tension quickly intensified.
Especially among part of the military delegates and younger officers who after the First Universal had expected far more decisive steps.
One officer rose from his seat.
—"If the Rada continues waiting for Petrograd's decisions, we will never receive real autonomy."
Several people supported him with approving voices.
But another delegate answered almost immediately:
—"And if we completely break with the Provisional Government now, the front and the country itself may collapse even faster."
The arguments grew louder and louder.
Several times Hrushevsky attempted to return the discussion to a calmer direction.
—"Nobody is abandoning Ukrainian demands."
Now he spoke far more firmly.
—"But after the revolution, the country is in far too dangerous a condition to make decisions whose consequences nobody will later be able to control."
Until that moment, Petliura had barely intervened in the discussion.
But once the conversation once again turned toward the army, he finally stood.
The hall gradually became quieter.
After the trip to Petrograd, many already knew: it was Petliura more than anyone else who had discussed the question of Ukrainian military units and the condition of the front with the government.
—"Many now demand immediate decisions," he began calmly.
His voice sounded far more restrained than the shouting of some delegates.
—"But the situation at the front is deteriorating faster than many here in Kyiv are prepared to admit."
He paused briefly.
—"The army still holds the front line. But discipline continues to fall. Committees interfere in command. More and more units no longer obey orders the way they once did."
The hall once again became very quiet.
Because most of those present understood too well: this was no longer only about politics, but about the possibility of the complete collapse of the old system itself.
After Petliura's speech, the atmosphere inside the hall became noticeably heavier.
If earlier the arguments had mostly concerned political formulations and relations with Petrograd, now the discussion increasingly returned to the army and the front.
And that frightened many people far more than anything else.
One of the military delegates rose from his seat.
—"If the army is truly in such a condition, then how can the war continue at all?"
The question sounded sharp, but too many people in the hall had already been asking themselves the same thing during recent months.
Petliura did not answer immediately.
—"For now, the front still exists."
He spoke calmly, almost dryly.
—"But after the February Revolution, the old system of military command has been collapsing faster than a new one can be created."
Several officers silently nodded.
—"That is exactly why the question of Ukrainian military units has become so important," Petliura continued. —"If the command structure completely loses its connection with the soldiers, holding the front will become impossible."
A voice immediately sounded from the back rows:
—"But Petrograd still fears Ukrainization."
This time Vynnychenko answered.
—"Because the Provisional Government fears every movement it can no longer completely control."
The irritation from the negotiations in Petrograd could once again be heard in his voice.
—"They continue speaking about freedom of nations, revolution, and a new Russia. But every time Ukraine demands real decisions, the government suddenly begins remembering the unity of the state."
Part of the delegates supported his words with approving voices.
Especially younger representatives of the left-wing parties and some of the soldiers' delegates.
Hrushevsky immediately noticed how rapidly the mood inside the hall was once again becoming more radical.
—"What matters now is preserving the unity of the Ukrainian movement itself," he said firmly.
But the tension no longer disappeared.
After the First Universal, too many people had begun expecting faster and more decisive changes.
Especially soldiers, younger officers, students, and part of the socialist circles.
For them, the revolution was already ceasing to be only a question of autonomy or political reform.
More and more often, discussions turned toward power, land, the future of the army, and what kind of country the new Ukraine itself would become after the collapse of the old Empire.
Vynnychenko carefully listened to the latest arguments around him, barely interfering in the discussion.
But inside him, the feeling continued growing stronger that the old system could no longer survive even through compromise.
The front, the workers, the soldiers, and the revolution itself were radicalizing too quickly.
And more and more often it seemed to him that many leaders of the Central Rada were still trying to preserve an order that was already beginning to collapse completely.
The arguments continued for a long time.
Several times, Hrushevsky was forced to restore order almost personally as some delegates had already begun interrupting one another during speeches.
The atmosphere became especially tense each time the discussion once again returned to the agreement with the Provisional Government and the limitations the Central Rada was now accepting upon itself.
But despite the dissatisfaction of part of the hall, the leadership of the Rada still understood: after the negotiations in Petrograd, the compromise that had been reached had to be officially закреплено.
Closer to evening, a heavier and more focused silence finally settled across the chamber.
Many already suspected that the text of the new Universal would now be announced.
When the official reading of the Second Universal began, almost nobody in the hall moved.
Even the most emotional delegates now listened in silence.
The Central Rada officially declared that it had reached an agreement with the Provisional Government and was now recognized as the representative body of Ukraine.
At the same time, the Rada agreed that the final resolution of the question of autonomy would be confirmed later by the future All-Russian Constituent Assembly.
The Central Rada also declared that it would be expanded through the inclusion of representatives of other peoples and organizations within Ukraine, attempting to demonstrate that it sought to become not merely a Ukrainian national movement, but a future governing body for the entire region.
A separate section addressed the most dangerous question of all — the army.
Ukrainian military units would be permitted to form, but only in coordination with the Provisional Government and the general military command.
For many inside the hall, this point sounded the most contradictory.
On the one hand, Petrograd was for the first time effectively recognizing the very possibility of Ukrainian military formations.
But on the other, the government still sought to preserve full control over the army and limit the independence of Ukrainization.
Throughout the reading of the document, a heavy silence remained inside the hall.
Now the language of caution and compromise could be felt in the Universal far more strongly than during the proclamation of the First Universal.
When the reading finally ended, the reaction proved deeply divided.
Part of the delegates greeted the Universal with applause.
For them, even partial recognition of the Central Rada already appeared to be an enormous step forward compared to the recent past, when the Ukrainian movement itself had not been recognized by the official government at all.
Others, however, remained noticeably grim.
Especially many younger officers, radical socialists, and soldiers' delegates.
One officer quietly said to the man beside him:
—"Too many concessions."
The other did not answer immediately.
—"Perhaps. But now nobody truly knows where compromise ends and a new crisis begins."
By evening, news of the Second Universal had already begun spreading rapidly through Kyiv.
In the streets, barracks, newspaper offices, and near the railway stations, people argued over whether this was a victory or merely another temporary concession to Petrograd.
But even among supporters of compromise, the feeling increasingly spread: the revolution was developing far faster than politicians were capable of negotiating with one another.